The movie ``The Royal Jester (King and the Clown)’’ takes historical figures and breathes new life into them with a liberal addition of fictionalized accounts and characters. What then were the actual King Yonsan, the royal concubine Chang Nok-su and the king’s court jester Kong-gil actually like, according to the historical record?
In the annals, King Yonsan, or Yonsangun, seemed to be one of the most notorious tyrants among the 27 kings who ruled the Choson Kingdom from 1392 to 1910.

He led a life of luxury and pleasure with endless banquets in the midst of many courtesans. He even ordered the deaths of those who complained of his neglect to take care of his people because of numerous parties he held.
Historians explain that his distorted personality resulted from his miserable childhood as he witnessed his mother Lady Yun ousted and executed. He later killed Lady Um and Lady Chong by his own hand during a banquet, believing them to have plotted his mother’s death.

But his insanity came to an end when a group of officials staged a coup that dethroned him, exiling him to Kangwha island, Kyonggi Province, where he died only two months later.
The king abused his mighty power and indulged in a pleasure-seeking life, and no one seemed to enjoy being with the insane king but royal concubine Chang Nok-su.

She is now believed to have attracted the king with her physical beauty, but interestingly, the annals describe her as not looking better than other women but as someone skilled in flattery and coquetry.
Originally, she was merely a servant of a renowned family, but she was smart and knew how to please others. To escape from her miserable and poor life, she even married several times before she met the king.

Through her great charm, she was eventually chosen by the king and won all his affection. Later, she was able to do whatever she wanted and reached fourth level in the official ranking system from the bottom.
Experts say that she was a tactful seductress who satisfied the bizarre sexual desires of the tyrant as well as comforting the king with regard to the death of his mother. But her life also took a cruel twist when the king was dethroned by the coup.

As the annals devote a relatively large space to the two historical figures, their bizarre yet miserable lives have been the source of many a book, play and movie.
But Kong-gil, who appears to have played an important role in a love triangle with King Yonsan and fictional character Jang-saeng in the film, takes up little space in the record.